One Piece: Who Had The Best New Design After The Timeskip?

Highlights

One Piece’s unique character designs are over-the-top yet iconic, making the characters memorable and beloved in the industry.
After the timeskip, the Straw Hats grew into a notorious pirate crew, with each member undergoing a redesign reflecting their maturity.
Zoro’s redesign stands out as the best in the crew, reflecting his coolness with longer hair, Samurai robes, and a missing eye scar.

Anyone who starts One Piece is usually taken aback by the weird and eccentric character designs that are so whacky that they can’t be found anywhere else in the industry. Though these designs are undoubtedly over-the-top, they are incredibly memorable and are one of the biggest reasons why the characters in this story are as iconic and beloved as they are.

The Straw Hats started as a hodge-podge of different personalities all looking to fulfill their dreams, but over time, have grown into a family that has become one of the most notorious pirate crews in all of One Piece. After the timeskip, every character underwent a redesign that showed them maturing over the two years they hadn’t seen each other, so let’s break down each of their designs and see which one of them looked the best after the timeskip.

Nami’s Redesign Is The Weakest

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First Appearance	One Piece, Episode 1, “I’m Luffy! The Man Who Will Become the Pirate King!”
Designation	Navigator

Nami had always been a character that served as someone who many thought to be conventionally attractive, however with her redesign, it felt as if Oda was trying a bit too hard to make this known. Anime is already an art form that, unfortunately, suffers from hyper-sexualization of women, and Nami’s redesign after the timeskip seemed to be a perfect example of this.

Life is like a pencil that will surely run out, but will leave the beautiful writing of life.

Her new design over-accentuated her hourglass physique by having her wear nothing but a bra on top and skinny jeans at the bottom. Her new look sticks out due to being the most bare-bones one of them all and feels out of place since the others generally look like they’re geared for an adventure, whereas Nami just looks like she’s trying too hard.

Franky’s New Design Took Getting Used To

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First Appearance	One Piece, Episode 233, “The Pirate Kidnapping Incident and the Pirate Ship Waits for Death!”
Designation	Shipwright

When Franky made his introduction in the Water 7 arc, he started as one of the most eccentric characters in One Piece. Even though he was first a villain that the heroes had to face, his hilarious antics and cool design quickly won over the hearts of fans, so seeing him join the Straw Hats at the end of Enies Lobby was truly a great outcome.

My name is “Cyborg” Franky! Your attacks are nothing to my steel body!

However, many didn’t take kindly to the redesign when it was first shown. Franky’s hair was the most iconic part of his appearance but it was replaced by a shaved head, which honestly just felt like Oda joking around. The big and bulky appearance was also something that most fans weren’t happy about, but have come to accept over time.

Luffy’s Design Barely Changed

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First Appearance	One Piece, Episode 1, “I’m Luffy! The Man Who Will Become the Pirate King!”
Designation	Captain

Luffy underwent an incredible amount of training with Rayleigh in the two years he was unable to see the rest of his crew. Becoming far more adept at mastering Haki, Luffy became much more powerful than he ever was before, which was reflected in the substantial gain in muscle mass that he had, which became the defining feature of his redesign.

I don’t want to rule anything!

However, other than him bulking up, his design barely saw any other changes. The clothes he wore remained the same, with the only difference being that the Captain of the Straw Hats displayed the scars on his chest more proudly. However, this isn’t to say this design is bad, since it still works for Luffy’s powerful new physique and makes him seem far more worthy of being the Captain of the Straw Hats.

Sanji Kept His Old Look

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First Appearance	One Piece, Episode 20, “The Famous Cook! Sanji of the Floating Restaurant!”
Designation	Cook

One of the strongest members of the Straw Hat Pirates, as well as a third of the legendary Monster Trio, Vinsmoke Sanji started as a suave cook who comes off as very cool until he sees a woman. This is one of the funniest and best parts about Sanji; how he is such an incredible fighter and cool character but always loses his composure whenever he comes across a girl.

Men who can’t wipe away tears from a woman’s eyes aren’t real men!

Much like this aspect of his personality, Sanji’s design had very little in terms of change after the timeskip. The only difference now is that his suits seem to fit him better, along with the fact that he now has more facial hair. However, the events after the timeskip often show him with just his dress shirt, giving an incredibly sleek and cool look to the character.

Chopper Remains Adorable

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First Appearance	One Piece, Episode 81, “Are You Happy? The Doctor who is Called a Witch!”
Designation	Doctor

When Chopper joined the Straw Hats, he quickly began to be viewed as the ‘little brother’ of the crew. His upbeat personality, hilarious antics, and adorable appearance fostered a similar opinion among fans of the series, and his redesign after the timeskip only furthered the love everyone had for this young reindeer. After spending 2 years honing his strength and becoming even more adept at his craft, Chopper rejoined his crewmates at Sabaody.

I want to be the sort of man people can rely on!

While many fans of One Piece wished to see the character mature over this time period to take on a similar appearance to his ‘horn point’ form, the redesign was still great. It kept the youthful and cute appearance that Chopper had become known for, with the biggest visual difference being the helmet on top of Hiruluk’s hat that worked perfectly for him.

Brooke Became The Soul King

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First Appearance	One Piece, Episode 337, “Venture Into the Devil’s Sea! The Mysterious Skeleton Floating Through the Fog!”
Designation	Musician

The 2 years of the timeskip had been strangely kind to Brooke. Even though he realized that he was trapped by those who summoned him, he used his musical talent to entertain the masses, eventually shooting up the ranks of fame to become one of the world’s most popular musicians. Now known as ‘Soul King Brooke’, the undead member of the Straw Hats also underwent a drastic change in design.

What keeps me alive in this world is neither bodily organs, nor muscles – it’s my soul!

Brooke’s new design was perfect for his character. Since he now had a career as a world-famous artist, his appearance took on that of a Jimi Hendrix-inspired rockstar. His new appearance was perfect for him as it showed him with a golden crown on his head, a fur scarf around his neck, and, often, sunglasses to complete his awesome new character design.

Usopp Had A Massive Glow-Up

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First Appearance	One Piece, Episode 8, “Who Will Win? Showdown Between the True Powers of the Devil Fruit!”
Designation	Sniper

When Usopp was first shown in the series, he was a cowardly man who was always at the mercy of his enemies and had reached the point where he always needed his crew’s help to get him out of situations. However, in the two years before the meeting at Sabaody, Usopp had finally gotten significantly stronger and less cowardly, and his new appearance perfectly reflected that.

There comes a time when a man has to stand and fight!

Usopp’s redemption arc in terms of his courage began in Water 7 and saw a drastic increase in the subsequent Enies Lobby. With his new design, this arc had finally come full circle. With how different he was compared to before, due to his strong appearance and new attacks, Usopp had now become a powerful member of the Straw Hat Pirates and a worthy companion to Luffy.

Robin’s Redesign Was Spectacular

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First Appearance	One Piece, Episode 67, “Deliver Princess Vivi! Luffy Pirates Depart!”
Designation	Archaeologist

When Robin is first introduced, she’s a villain who worked against the Straw Hats and aided Sir Crocodile in his Baroque Works organization. After joining the crew in the subsequent arcs, Robin found a new family and was appointed as the archaeologist of the crew, and after spending 2 years with the revolutionaries, she came back to her crew with an amazing redesign.

Fools who don’t respect the past are doomed to repeat it!

The philosophy for Robin’s new design should have been the same one for Nami, as this perfectly embodied everything Nami was trying her hardest to be. Without being overtly lewd, Robin seemed to carry a certain grace and elegance with her new design which just endeared her even more to fans. Where Nami came across as trying too hard, Robin came off as effortless. Also, her slick-back black hair gave her a similar vibe to her former boss Crocodile, which made her design even better.

Zoro Has The Best Redesign of the Straw Hats

First Appearance	One Piece, Episode 1, “I’m Luffy! The Man Who Will Become the Pirate King!”
Designation	First Mate/Main Combatant

Zoro was the first person to ever join Luffy’s crew of pirates and, since then, he has not only proven himself to be one of the strongest characters in One Piece, but also as the acting Captain whenever Luffy is not around, and often, even when he is. He is Luffy’s best friend and one of the most integral parts of the Straw Hat crew, without whom the entire structure would crumble.

Only those who have suffered long can see the light within the shadows.

During the 2 year timeskip, Zoro was on Gloom Island, where he spent his time training with the legendary Warlord of the Sea, Dracule Mihawk, who’s widely regarded as one of the greatest swordsmen in the world. Zoro’s reappearance on Sabaody shows him leaning into his unparalleled coolness with his slightly longer hair, new Samurai robes, and even channeling the iconic Guts from Berserk with a missing eye. Though it was never revealed how he got this scar, it came together perfectly with the rest of his new look to make the best redesign in the entire Straw Hat Crew.